Meet Nathan, Leveled’s Videographer

 

One of the great perks of Museum work is that everything is always shifting and no day is exactly like the one that came before it.  We are constantly meeting new people; artists, patrons, collaborators, other museum professionals, journalists and for this exhibition, a videographer.  Nathan is currently working to make a short video for each of the four works in Leveled that will document the progress of each installation giving the public a sneak peak at something that is usually kept under wraps.  It has been a pleasure to have Nathan along this round - we are all curious to see his documentation in a few weeks. 

Doris and her Wall(s)

 

Every round we end up asking our prep crew to do something totally different than we have ever done before.  This time we asked them to build a bridge connecting three walls into one. Below you will see some stages of this process as well as the beginnings of Doris Bittar’s work.

Wes and Gallery One

It is really exciting to see Wes at work.  Here are the beginnings of his Ms. Augustine Greane fort structure. 

Wes at Work

 

 

The paperwork, phone calls, emails, faxes and meetings all become worth it the second the artists and their work drive into our parking lot.  You plan and plan based off guesses and imaginary happenings of the future and sometimes in the thick of it you forget that there is this wonderful light at the end of the tunnel where all the things you planned for will come to fruition. 
This past weekend I got to see the first lights at the end of my tunnel as Wes Bruce and two of his friends arrived in a Uhaul truck filled to the brim with what will become his art installation.  Below you will see images of Wes arriving and starting to work in the gallery.  As his work continues to grow and form I will make sure to keep you up to date.

And the Magic Begins…

 

Sunday July 25th, 2010 was the first official day of Leveled Installation.  I can’t tell you how exciting it is to watch the pieces of these ‘installations to be’ come through the Museum’s doors.  Part of Marisol Rendon’s work, specifically a huge comfy and deliciously smooth white leather couch, was recently dropped off [see below image].  When the exhibition opens you will be able to climb over its sides and be cradled in its comfy seat while you draw pictures of your favorite foods.

CCAE on Sign on San Diego WS Radio

Last Friday, July 16, Olivia Luther [our Museum’s Director], Leah Masterson [CCAE Public Relations Manager] and I went down to San Diego to talk to Drew for his Community Spotlight program on Sign on San Diego’s WS Radio.  We talked about the Center, what we do there and what is coming up in the near future, thus Leveled!  I was a little nervous but found I love radio and would be happy to chat endlessly on the airwaves whenever given the chance.  Who knows maybe it’s my new calling.  Leveled comes up at 9 minutes 40 seconds. 

Meet Beth

Beth is Museum Coordinator here at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum and has been since January 2010.  Beth is from the Detroit metro area and moved to California this past December.  She hates winter weather and thus loves California and I am guessing will be a lifer.  She just recently married Chris Meinhardt in Vegas, officiated by Elvis [you know the later years Elvis]… her name tag still says Beth Kwapis what’s up with that? 

Right now she is working hard on stocking the Museum store with great quirky things to buy [she is the manager] all while helping writing text for Leveled.  We love Beth and are happy to have her!

Tara

Leveled: The Beginning

It all started with a small idea.  How can we make artists and their viewers have a closer relationship where the experience of art is the main focus? 

One thing led to another and the exhibition Leveled: An Interactive Experiment in Art was born.  To start the process I selected 15 local installation based artists and asked them to propose interactive installations that had some reference to the word green.  These proposals were to be created around the concept that museum guests will be able to shift, change and physically alter the artworks in our galleries during part of the exhibition’s run.  After tons of phone calls and explaining the exhibition over and over and over I found myself waiting in anticipation for the proposals to start coming in.  This was nerve wracking.  I filled this time by thinking and dreaming, about what they might be like.  Would artists even submit?  After all the waiting and worrying I found I had nothing to fret about at all.  We received an amazing group of submissions and I send my thanks to each artist that entered a proposal; they were all wonderful and it made deciding the final line up very hard.  In the end Doris Bittar, Wes Bruce, Ingram Ober and Marisol Rendon became the Leveled artists.

So months later, here I sit in my sky blue administration office typing to you as the prep crew and registrar are busy packing up the artworks that have been housed in our museum during the past 5 months… so that we can get ready for Leveled and what it will bring.

Leveled: An Interactive Experiment in Art

Leveled Curator,

Tara Smith

The California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum